Roundabout Pre-School

Newsletter

November 2016

I’d like to once again take the opportunity to congratulate our children on their fantastic behaviour, particularly when they come into Roundabout to begin a session. It always heartens us when we see that our children feel happy and supported to come into Roundabout. We are beginning to see some lovely bonds forming between new children and their peers, as well as the adults who care for them. For us at Roundabout, positive relationships is one of the most important factors in the care that we provide.

Thank you to the many parents who have taken the time to come into setting to discuss their child’s starting point summary with their key person. These initial assessments of our new starters are absolutely vital in ensuring that we are getting to know our children effectively, and therefore able to meet their developmental needs as the term progresses. As a setting we place a huge emphasis on gaining as much knowledge as we can about the children’s lives at home, and without parental input we could not possibly make an accurate judgement on what our children’s interests and abilities are. Parents are continually asked for their input throughout the term and we are so grateful at how forthcoming you can be. We have added a new section to our termly summaries/assessments which is titled ‘Supporting future learning and development at home’. We hope that we can compile this section in conjunction with parents to provide our children with continuity in learning and development between home life and life at Roundabout.

Along similar lines, a number of our practitioners are working on ‘All About Me’ books with their children. Several recent educational studies have shown that the language children use when looking at pictures/ photos of places, people or objects that are special to them, can be far more advanced than when looking at, for example, unfamiliar story books. So please provide us with photos of family, home, bedroom, favourite toys, etc (nothing is too random if it is special to your child) if you can and we will set about making an All About Me book for as many of our children as we can. All About Me books can also provide comfort to children should they need it.

ROUNDABOUT SOCIAL AND AGM – 16TH NOVEMBER!!!

Please could you all put some serious consideration into coming along to Roundabout’s Annual General Meeting and joining our voluntary parent Committee. WE NEED YOU!!! The meeting will be at 8pm in the portacabin. Our current committee will be providing drinks (including a bit of fizz!) and it will be a great opportunity to meet other parents and help us to maintain our fabulous community feel as a setting. Our current Chair and Secretary are both stepping down and thankfully we have some fantastic parents who are prepared to step into those roles. It would be great if some more of our new and existing parents could show them some support. Our Committee are an extremely friendly bunch, without whom we simply could not exist in the form that we do (a registered charity). Being on the Committee means that you would be helping to make decisions that directly affect the children under our care. For example, we go to the Committee when faced with all decisions on how we should improve our resources and make new purchases so it really is a fun, but important role.

Lunchboxes

Please could we ask for all lunchboxes to be labelled on the outside – we often have several duplicate lunchboxes and clear labelling helps to avoid confusion, amongst adults as well as children!!! It is also extremely important to us all that our children are receiving a balanced diet. We would ask that parents only put one sweet/treat item into lunchboxes to aid us in promoting healthy eating choices. If you have any issues, or are unsure about what to put into your child’s lunchbox then please don’t hesitate to speak to Kate or Carrie.

Children’s Learning Journals

Please remember that these important files are as much your documents as ours. You will always find them out on top of the desk to the right of the door as you walk in. Please feel free to look through them or take them home to add to them yourselves (we would ask that you let your child’s key person know if you are going to take them).

Themed weeks at Roundabout

As the term progresses and the children mature, we would like to reintroduce ‘themed weeks’ into the Roundabout curriculum. In the past we have had huge success with weeks such as superhero week, animal week and pirate week. These special weeks allow us to really think about how we can help the children to collaborate in their learning and to make some exciting changes to our provision. The ideas for the themed weeks always come from the interests of the children, so if you have any ideas on a theme that you know would really grab the imagination of your child then please let us know.

Spanish at Roundabout

This term and last term we offered the opportunity for our children who are in their pre-school year to take part in a weekly Spanish lesson, run by a fully qualified Spanish teacher from ‘Smartypants’. The sessions cost £3.50 per week and the programme will have run for 10 weeks by the time it concludes. Although the uptake was fairly limited (8 of our children take part) the children have really enjoyed the sessions with our teacher Cath. We have noted however, that lots of children who have not paid for the session are waiting and listening outside of the session area and this has pulled on all of our heart strings!!! Roundabout Committee and I are working towards a solution to this where we re-offer the programme in the new year. It may be that we ask parents of all children who attend on a Wednesday for a very small contribution towards Spanish lessons and that Roundabout funds make up the difference. I would obviously value parents’ opinions on this matter as we proceed into the new year. I genuinely feel that to be able to offer a new language opportunity to the children is a fabulous learning experience and I would really love for it to be an experience that is open to all – but we have to make considerations for our own finances as a charity.

Updating our info

Please would all parents ensure that we have the correct contact details for all those who are named as contacts for the children within our care. It is vital that we can contact you efficiently should the need arise.

Our Staff

Adele

I am Adele and I am manager at Roundabout. I am currently qualified as a level 5 in childcare and management, my previous experience of 24 years has always been in full day care.
Out of the setting I spend a lot of time with my family outdoors, a hobby of mine is doing cross stitch (needle work).

Carrie

I am Carrie and I am Assistant to the Pre-School Manager at Roundabout. I have one son.
I have worked at Roundabout for over twelve years.

Claire

My name is Claire, I am married with one teenage son. I love animals and I have adopted many! In my free time I like to travel.

Debbie

I am Debbie and I have worked at Roundabout for twelve years.
I have three children and a dog called Skye. I enjoy walking and going to the theatre and concerts.

Annie

My name is Annie. I have two beautiful children. I started at Roundabout in February 2014. I enjoy dancing and being daft.

Sarah

I am married and have two children.
I have worked at Roundabout since 1992.
Out of pre-school I like to bake and cook and watch my son play Rugby on a Sunday morning. I also enjoy knitting (but not very good at it).

Kay

I am Kay and I have a little girl at Roundabout. I have just successfully completed my Level 3 Cache Childcare Course. I enjoy baking, arts and crafts with my children and walking our dog.